Various methods for changing data in a workflow process exist in modern computing. For example, a purchasing agent working for a company may receive requests from employees needing various items. That purchasing agent then determines the proper vendors from which to solicit bids, gets approvals for purchases, negotiates delivery dates, and eventually places orders, receives the orders, and delivers the purchases. Following the placement of the orders, various computer records are updated reflecting the details of the orders, and the employees are optionally notified that the order is placed.
Records used in workflow processes are stored in many forms. For example, records may be stored in spreadsheets, databases, linked lists, or other proprietary data structures meeting the needs of system designers. Similar to the example discussed above, workflow processes typically involve records generated by one or more persons at one location within a company, with one or more of those records being edited by or updated by one or more persons at a second location within a company. In some cases, sets of commonly accessible records may be opened by two users or more, with one or more edits being made by each of those users. To keep these records accurate, data integrity checks and conflict resolution between the edits of the various users are performed.